First Mass of Thanksgiving

Dear Crosier Friends,

One of the most dramatic rites in Christianity will take place on May 26, 2018. Through the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, my confrere, Br. Alex Juguilon, osc, will be ordained a priest by Bishop Eduardo Alanis Nevares of the Diocese of Phoenix.

This is a very joyous occasion for the Crosiers, and I know you share in our happiness that Br. Alex has responded to God’s call to serve the Church as a Crosier priest.

As a newly ordained priest, Fr. Alex will celebrate his First Mass on Sunday, May 27 at St. Gregory Catholic Parish in Phoenix. He would like to invite you to participate in this joyful celebration by sending your prayer requests for which he can pray during this “First Mass.”

Fr. Alex will also celebrate a First Mass here at the National Shrine of St. Odilia in Onamia, Minnesota, on July 22, the Sunday following St. Odilia’s feast day and will also remember your prayer requests during this Mass.

Alex (48) grew up in Cleveland where he was a member of St. Albert the Great parish. There he founded a monthly men’s prayer group, served at daily Mass, and volunteered with the RCIA program. Though he was a physician prior to joining the Crosiers, he felt the Lord’s call to serve human needs in a different way. And God led him to us.

He became acquainted with the Crosiers through our mission preaching efforts around the country. One of our mission preachers frequently visited Cleveland, and it was through these visits that Alex came to know us and was inspired by our ministry and fraternity.

Br. Alex says that daily prayer for the Blessed Mother’s intercession helped him discover God’s desire for his life as it was during quiet moments of listening to God that he received his answer. Br. Alex joined us as a novice in 2011 and made his first profession of vows as a Crosier the following year.

With a desire to make a lifelong commitment to live by the Rule of St. Augustine, Br. Alex professed final vows in 2017 and was ordained a deacon later that year. Since then, he was transferred to our Crosier Community of Phoenix where he has been serving as a deacon at St. Gregory Catholic Parish.

God is truly blessing our worldwide Crosier Order! In addition to the ordination of Br. Alex, later this year, 11 Crosier missionaries will be ordained to the priesthood, 8 in Congo and 3 in Indonesia. These young Crosiers are grateful for all you do. You make a tremendous difference for them. With your support, they are able to accomplish incredible things and serve a great number of people in our missions.

Br. Alex and our young missionary Crosiers look forward to their ordinations and to serving the Church as priests. Your prayers, friendship, and support have blessed us and we are grateful for all of these blessings, for we could not be servants of the Church without all of your kindness.

In the Confessions of Augustine, Chapter 11, St. Augustine—whose holy Rule we follow—wrote about the final wishes of his mother, St. Monica. When she was near the final moments of her earthly life, she said to her son: “Lay this body anywhere, and do not let the care of it be a trouble to you at all. One thing only do I ask of you: that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.” When she had expressed this wish, she fell silent, in heavy pain with her increasing sickness.

We Crosiers gather in the National Shrine of St. Odilia five times daily for prayer and to celebrate Mass. Each time we gather around the altar of the Lord, we lift up in prayer the needs of the Church and world, along with your personal prayer requests and those of our family, friends and benefactors. We are here to pray for you and to ask St. Odilia to be your intercessor before God. And soon you will have 11 newly ordained priests who will celebrate their First Masses and pray for your intentions.

I hope you will take a moment now to send me the intentions you want our young newly ordained Crosiers to remember in their First Masses. Please take a moment to write your intentions in the Comment Box of the donation page where you can list your intentions, along with the names of your loved ones in need of God’s healing grace and mercy. Any donation you can afford to include will be greatly appreciated.

May God who has begun the good work in Br. Alex bring it to fulfillment.

Sincerely in Christ,

V. Rev. Kermit Holl, osc

Prior, Crosier Community of Onamia

PS: Soon you will have 11 newly ordained priests who will celebrate their First Mass. You are invited to participate in these Masses by sending your prayer intentions by May 24. Fr. Alex and the newly ordained missionary priests across our Order will pray for these intentions during their First Masses on three continents!

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Crosier Info

We are Crosiers – a union of Christian men who will to live and work in a community to keep the Gospel alive and proclaimed. At more than 800 years old, we are one of the oldest Roman Catholic religious orders of priests and brothers.

The name Crosier is derived from the French word croisés—signed with the cross. We bear the crusader cross on our habit as a sign of our devotion to the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

There are more than 400 Crosiers today worldwide. We have two large, vibrant communities in the United States–one in Phoenix, Arizona, and the other in Onamia, Minnesota.